FOR decades, the Jamaican woman’s toil helped service the education of their children, many of whom became corporate and political leaders. I-Octane says those women are still around but are rarely given their due.

The singjay salutes them on Independent, his latest song which is produced by Mari Muziq Records.

He believes social media is partially to blame for women of substance getting pushed into the background as the ‘hot girl’ usually gets thrust into the limelight instead.

“Yuh have a whole heap a self-reliant females but dat is not what is advertised. Dem promote nudes who do dis, who do dat so di younger generation naah guh be di woman who have har hair parlour or dis woman who have har stall or wholesale. Dem want to be what di Internet show,” he said.

Independent concludes a busy recording year for I-Octane. In March he released his album I am Great which contains Independent as well as Loyalty and Paranoid, a collaboration with Rygin King.

Early this month he worked with Inner Cirlce on Chocolate, his second song with the Grammy-winning band.

Born Byiome Muir in Clarendon, I-Octane began his music career in the late 1990s. He has established himself by working with leading producers including Donovan Germain, Stephen McGregor and Christopher Birch.

The latter produced L.O.V.E.Y.O.U, one of I-Octane’s biggest hits. It was the lead single from Crying to The Nation, his first album released in 2012.

On December 4 I-Octane performs at the Art Basel event in Miami.